Webkinz - Soft Toys and Virtual Pets

Webkinz are stuffed animal toys, similar to many other small plush toys. Each comes with a special code on their labels that allows access to the "Webkinz World" which is a website to "adopt" a virtual version of the pet for virtual interaction.

The toys have been compared to Beanie Babies, and have become extremely popular, with Ganz claiming more than 2 million units sold to retailers and 1 million registered users of the Webkinz website. At the height of the toys' popularity, shortages of supply at some stores have been reported.